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'In 1862, Sonya Tolstoy married the greatest author the world has ever known, Leo Tolstoy. For forty-eight years they shared their lives in a union that was at once passionate, collegial and combative. Sixteen years younger than her husband, Sonya bore him thirteen children and worked for years as his copyist, rewriting countless drafts of his timeless novels. Both were mercurial and passionate personalities and, towards his end, Tolstoy deserted her.
In War & Peace and Sonya, Russian scholar Judith Armstrong tells Sonya's own story exploring their devotion and ambivalence to one another, their passion for great literature and the powers of the imagination, and showing us just how remarkably true to life fiction Judith Armstrong can be.' (Publisher's website)
Notes
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Dedication: To Piers and Lucien in Paris
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Author's note: I worked from the diaries of Sonya Tolstoy in both the original Russian and the translation made by Cathy Porter; and from those of Lev Tolstoy in the original and the translation made by R. F. Christian.
The fictional works of Tolstoy were also consulted in both the original and in various translated versions. The quotations in the text of my novel are my own except in a very few cases when the orginal was unavailable.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Fiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 - 27 November 2011; (p. 24)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 December 2011; (p. 34)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Riddle of Tolstoy's 'Other Woman'
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 December 2011; (p. 27) The Sydney Morning Herald , 17-18 December 2011;
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
To the Long-Suffering Mrs Tolstoy: Stand Up and Be Counted
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 24 December 2011; (p. 20)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
The Literary Feminist
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 30 October 2011; (p. 19)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel
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The Literary Feminist
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 30 October 2011; (p. 19)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
To the Long-Suffering Mrs Tolstoy: Stand Up and Be Counted
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 24 December 2011; (p. 20)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Riddle of Tolstoy's 'Other Woman'
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 December 2011; (p. 27) The Sydney Morning Herald , 17-18 December 2011;
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 December 2011; (p. 34)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Fiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 - 27 November 2011; (p. 24)
— Review of War and Peace and Sonya : A Novel 2011 single work novel
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cRussia,ccFormer Soviet Union,cEastern Europe, Europe,
- 1862-1910